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@devlincolle: Southerners have been given their first glimpse of what the inside of the new Invercargill Airport terminal could look like.

The airport released an artist's impression of the interior of the terminal to coincide with the opening of expressions of interest for contractors for the next stage of the $13 million project today.

Expressions of interest open today for the main contractor and next week for the cafe operator in the terminal.

The preliminary design phase, which included architectural layouts and foundation plans, was completed in December.

The redevelopment was expected to be completed in December 2015.

Invercargill Airport chairman Joe O'Connell said all the hard work, done in the background since the announcement in July last year, was coming to fruition.

Detailed design work was nearing completion.

The new terminal will be a 2900-square-metre single-level building on the same site as the present building and will be constructed in three stages.

Invercargill City Council holding company Holdco borrowed the $13m to fund the new airport terminal building.

Regional and national interest for the construction contract and cafe operation had already been expressed, O'Connell said.

He was pleased the official process had started and the public could see things moving.

The prequalification process for the main contractor would be advertised through the Government Electronic Tenders Service today and the process was expected to be completed by the end of next month.

The construction contract for the terminal redevelopment includes demolition of the existing building, construction of the new terminal building and construction of a temporary baggage reclaim enclosure inside the main complex.

"Assuming no delay in the tender process and subject to the construction timeframe being agreed, we estimate a completion date of around Christmas 2015," he said.

Expressions of interest in the terminal cafe operation will open next week.

The current airport cafe was effectively owned by the airport and contracted out, O'Connell said.

"We desire an operator instead of a contractor."

The new cafe was an attractive business opportunity for interested parties. The airport was seeking a cafe operator to provide a vibrant focal point and reflect the modern facility.